The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Bengal Branch held a highly publicized program to celebrate “Doctors’ Day” on July 1 at their head office near Park Circus, Kolkata where many doctor, political, and even government leaders participated to discuss various problems with the healthcare delivery system. While most doctor-leaders expressed their concerns about physical assaults by shocked friends and family members following death of a patient from alleged medical negligence, little was discussed about the “real” underlying reason for occasional unfortunate incidences of doctor bashing and hospital vandalism. Unlike in the Western countries like UK and USA where ordinary people cannot even imagine attacking doctors following death of their loved one from gross medical negligence because they almost always get medical justice through an honest and transparent investigation process by the medical council and also by the court of law unlike in India. However, PBT never condones doctor bashing or hospital vandalism even in the event of death from genuine “medical negligence” because two wrongs can never make a right.
The height of the sham pro-patients demonstration by the IMA on Doctors’ Day was invitation of veteran Dr. Sukumar Mukherjee, the most negligent physician in Indian medical history who was found guilty for gross medical negligence causing death of Anuradha Saha and ordered to pay the highest-ever compensation of Rs. 11.5 crore (along with AMRI Hospital and two other doctors). In the scathing judgment holding Dr. Mukherjee guilty for medical malpractice, Apex Court also severely criticized Dr. Mukherjee’s character as the court expressed that his behavior was “unbecoming of a doctor” and that he brought “great disrespect to the medical profession”. Shockingly, Dr. Mukherjee delivered a lecture before a packed house of IMA doctors on medical negligence and doctor-patient relationship. Do we still wonder why the “good” doctors still do not understand why public is losing trust on our healers?
